Legends
"The Northern host left Riverrun four days ago. They should be here no less than three days from today." Varys said with a pleased smile on his rounded face.
"Excellent news indeed, Varys!" he exclaimed happily and gulped a glass of Dornish red.
"No offense, Lord Tyrion, but I do not know why the Kingdom needs to host this Tourney for a boy's fifth nameday." Aegon said with an unusual frown on his face. The Targaryen Prince is usually all smiles and grins and easy laughs. But it is not unusual to see him frown whenever Jon Tragaryen is the topic of any conversation. Jon Connigton raised him as the future King of the Seven Kingdoms, The Protector of the Realm and the Last Hero who will save the Realm of men from the undead. He believed that he was Aegon the Conqueror comes again who will get the Iron Throne back for the Targaryens. Instead it is Daenaerys who is Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, and it was the unknown brother who is the White Dragonwolf, The Promised Prince who saved the Realm of Men from Winter itself. He now resides in the Capital as sign of goodwill to pacify Dorne and simply because there was no evidence of his legitimacy aside from the words of an exile Lord who was dying of a lung disease.
"The Kingdom had not seen a Grand Tourney since Ned Stark became Hand of the King, Lord Aegon, plus it's the Lannisters shouldering the gold so I say let them have it. Since it brought the the King back South I say good work, Lord Hand!" Bronz Royce said enthusiastically, banging his hand on the table.
He smiled his crooked smile at the Master of Laws, everyone knows that Bronz Royce is one of the most faithful supporter of King Jon even before they knew of his status as legitimate Targaryen Prince, Bronz Royce is one of the Greatest Commander in the Seven Kingdom and is understandably in awe with the way the King Commanded the entire army during the Long Night and the last Battle of the Dawn where Jon Targaryen single handedly ended the terror of the Night's King.
He looked at the Queen, she was smiling proudly at him, although it should be his wife she should be thanking. It was Sansa who proposed a tourney for their only son's fifth name day to lure the elusive King of the North back to King's Landing.
The King went missing for a year beyond The Wall. They were only able to get knowledge of it a month after he came back.
She touched the cloak reverently, it is the best silk she had ever touched. It is smoother than Myrish Silk and softer than Lyneses Silk, even with all the gold from Casterly Rock at her disposal this is the first time that she was able to see such fine cloth.
"It's as hard as steel, only Valyrian Steel can pierce through it." Arya said as she wrapped the cloth on one of her arms, she took a dagger from out of nowhere and tried to hack at her arm.
"Arya!" she shouted in fright and quickly held her sister's hands trying to make sure that her stupid sister did not cut her arm off but to her amazement her sister's arm was unharmed. "How…?" she looked at Arya only to see her eyes gleam mischievously at her.
"This is Stygian Spidersilk, the material is lightweight but unbelievably durable, I commissioned Jon's boiled leather armor to be lined with it, as well as most of his winter and summer cloaks. I had mine lined with it too as well as Bran's and Lyanna's. I brought enough spidersilk so you can have one of your dresses and a clock commissioned with it as well as one for little Eddard. I would have liked to bring more but this is so expensive we can only get so much and I used most of it for Jon and Bran since Bran is the Lord of Winterfell and King Jon is… well he's an idiot."
She smiled at her sister. Five years ago she would have admonished her for saying something so unlady like to their brother… cousin… but given what happened half a year ago she couldn't help but agree. Jon is an idiot. His complete disregard for his own safety grates on her nerves. He doesn't seem to grasp the idea that his mere presence gives stability to the realm. As long as he is alive the North, the Riverlands and the Vale will remain peaceful. If Jon dies she is afraid the Riverlands and the Vale will clamor for their own interest. It is true that the Riverlands and the Vale supported Jon's claim to the Winter Throne because of his connection to her as a Tully but they remained loyal because of Jon's character. He is also the only reason why the Iron Throne is allowing the North's independence, if Jon dies, the Realm will unravel.
She looked at her sister in confusion. "I never heard of Sty—gian silk before." She said, as she put the precious cloth down the table.
Arya smiled at her impetuously, "You wouldn't. We do not have them in Westeros or even in Essos. They lived on the woods of Rhunn's Mountain in Kingdom beyond the Land of Always Winter."
"Why would he be Beyond the Land of Always Winter?"
Arya sighed, "He was patrolling Beyond the Wall. Still trying to finds survivors and making sure that no White Walkers are roaming around. You know how he is, given what he had been through and the horrors that he had witness you cannot blame him for being a bit cautious."
A bit cautious is keeping is light. Jon had always been the most guarded of Ned Starks children, and he is still her brother no matter his sire, mainly because one mistake and Lady Catelyn will have him ousted of Winterfell. But he was ten times more paranoid even five years after the War of the Dawn. He sees monster at every turn, barely wanted to sleep and mostly just wanted to keep all of them locked up at Winterfell. They came to blows when she decided not to annul her marriage to Tyrion Lannister and decided to come South to become the Lady of Casterly Rock and then to King's Landing as Mistress of Coin. For the first three years he would appear in the Capital unannounced to check on her especially when she was pregnant and after she gave birth. He constantly tried to persuade her to come home, using Arya, who is proving to be as stubborn as ever as she rejected suitor after suitor and chose instead to be Winterfell's Captain of the Guards, as leverage.
"A Kingdom Beyond the Land of Always Winter? I always thought it was the end of the world." She said.
"Several Kingdoms actually, you will have to ask Jon for the specifics. No matter how many times we talked about his little vacation it appears like he has more tales to tell. No one really knows what he went through but, Sansa… whatever it was… I am glad. He smiles more, he jokes more and he is finally slowing down." She said with stars in her eyes.
She smiled happily at her sister and held her hand tightly. It appears that even after all this time her brother is finally healing. She just hopes that his time in the capital will not hamper that progress. She knows for a fact that the small council will push for a Royal Wedding between her brother and the Queen. Queen Daenarys is hopelessly in love with Jon, most at Court if not the whole Realm knows it. A wedding pact and most specially an Heir will bring stability and peace in the Seven Kingdoms. Until now, Lord Aegon is still vying for the Queen's hand in marriage using his claim as Rhaegar's firstborn to sway different Houses to his cause. He have the Dorne completely at his side and since he begot a bastard daughter to Lady Margeary, the Reach as well.
But the lack of proof is Queen Daenarys' only shield against his advances. The only one who claims him to be Rhaegar's son is Lord Jon Connigton who is slowly dying of a lung disease in Griffin's Roost, the fact that he has the Golden Company at his back, which had always supported the Blackfyres, might have made him valuable during the war but it proves to be detrimental to his cause now. Even Lord Varys with his extensive network cannot find a single link between Elia Martell's dead babe and the Young Griff. Lord Varys was able to locate her Aunt Lyanna and Price Rhaegar's Marriage Certificate as well as Jon's Certificate of Birth despite her father's effort to hide said documents. They found the original copies on a secret compartment on Lady Lyanna's statue at the crypt under Winterfell, along with her Marriage Cloak and Prince Rhaegar's harp. He found another copy in Dragonstone, in the Hidden Vault on the late Queen Rhaella's apartments in the Red Keep and lastly at the Citadel where the documents had been guarded by the Maester's and the now Grand Maester Marwyn. And lastly, he was not Dragonborn, as the Queen said. It was not that he was not immune to fire like Jon and the Queen is but because no matter what he does not one of the two remaining dragons bonds with him.
Rhaegal almost immediately bonded with Jon when he went to Dragonstone to treat with the Queen during the first months of her arrival to Westeros. Even Drogon, the Queen's own dead mount, was said to listen and laid his head in deference to Jon. Viserion does not even tolerate Lord Aegon's presence as evidence when the green and cream Dragon almost roasted him to death when he tried to approach it just last week to the amusement of her husband and the entire Court.
It would be amusing to watch Jon try to navigate the Viper's pit that is the Red Keep, Lords and Ladies will be pulling him left and right and Lord Aegon's ego would undoubtedly be battered by Jon's popularity. She will make sure that the minstrels within the Capital and the surrounding lands will be singing The Prince that was Promised and the Prince of Pisswater Bay nonstop.